Israel Discount Bank
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| Type | Public TASE: DSCT |
|---|---|
| Industry | Banking Financial services |
| Founded | 1935 |
| Headquarters | Tel Aviv, Israel |
| Key people | Joseph Bachar (Chairman) Reuven Spiegel (President and CEO) |
| Products | Current Accounts, Savings, Mortgages, Trust Services, Foreign Securities, Foreign Currency |
| Revenue |  ₪ 4,757 million (2009) |
| Profit | ₪ 923 million (2009) |
| Employees | 5,705 (2008) |
| Subsidiaries |
Mercantile Discount Bank Israel Discount Bank of New York (IDB Bank) |
| Website | www.discountbank.co.il |
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Israel Discount Bank Ltd. (Hebrew: בנק דיסקונט לישראל בע"מ), (TASE: DSCT) I.D.B., is one of Israel's three largest banks, with 260 branches, and assets of 171 billion NIS (US$38 billion).[1]
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[edit] History
The Eretz Yisrael Discount Bank was founded on April 5, 1935 by Leon Recanati, a new immigrant from Greece who had been the head of the Jewish community of Thessaloniki, with two other partners, Yosef Elbaz and Moshe Carasso, in a store at 39 Yehuda Halevi St. in Tel Aviv. The bank was unique in that it was open to private customers unlike the other few dozen banks operating in Israel at that time who mostly catered only to business people and entities.
In 1952, the name of the bank was changed to Israel Discount Bank.
Major Holdings of the bank include Bank Mercantile Discount, Israel Discount Bank of New York, shares in First International Bank of Israel, the Israel Discount Mortgage Bank, and Visa-CAL.
The bank's president is Reuven Spiegel. Joseph Bachar is the chairman of the board of directors.
[edit] Money Laundering
In 2004-5 Israel Discount Bank of New York processed US$ 35.4 billion for "originators and beneficiaries that exhibited characteristics and patterns commonly associated with money laundering,"[2] yet the US Treasury did not declare the bank a "primary money-laundering concern" under Sec. 311 of the Patriot Act as it had done with the small Banco Delta Asia, where only US$ 20 million had been alleged.[3] Such a step would have effectively closed down the institute, something obviously not considered politically expedient.
[edit] Milestones
- In 1935, bank founded in Tel Aviv.
- In 1949, the first public branch was opened in Haifa.
- In 1962, IDB Bank opened its first overseas branch at 511 5th Avenue in New York City.
- In 1963, IPO on Tel Aviv Stock Exchange.
- In 1965, the 100th branch was opened.
- In 1972, I.D.B. was the first Israeli bank to install external ATMs.
- In 1983, subsequent to the stock scandal, ownership was transferred to the Government of Israel.
- In 2006, control of the bank was tendered to private hands, though the government still owns 31% of shares. The bank's new headquarters is at the Discount Bank Tower on Yehuda HaLevi Street, Tel Aviv.
- January 12, 2010 the government sold an additional 5% of the banks stock of the 25% of the company's stock it owned at the time.
[edit] External links
[edit] References
- ^ "Dun's 100 Israel's Largest Enterprises - Commercial Banks - by Total Assets", Dun & Bradstreet Israel, Jan 2010, http://duns100.dundb.co.il/ts.cgi?tsscript=/2009e/e30a4, retrieved 2010-05-27
- ^ MacCormack, Gavan; Client State; London 2007, ISBN 978-1-84467-127-4, p. 110
- ^ Ryang, Sonia (ed.); North Korea; Lanham, Md. 2009, ISBN 978-0-7391-3206-7, p. 28-9
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